11 October 2009
What is so much there to probe about love affairs between people of different faiths?
What is there to probe into cases of conversion from on faith to other so long as proselytizing is perfectly recognized as constitutional and legal in secular India?
You convince me by reason (or even by giving me soaps) that Islam or
Christianity is a better faith than Hiduism; I start thinking that Hinduism is really not good for ME and take a decision to covert as a Muslim or a Christian.
How can then one assume that all this happen only because of inflow of mysterious foreign funds plus destabilizing motivations linked with
it?
Why the mysterious inflow of foreign funds, rather,is not checked by routine regulatory measures than by resorting to ways producing hypes and instilling fears in the minds of people about forcible conversion?
True that parents of at least two Hindu girls allegedly lured by the activists of so called 'Love Jihadis' did come up with habeous corpus writs following the disappearance of these girls from their houses.
It may also be true that the girls ultimately decide to go back to their parents on the basis of own choice, in a court of law.
But why should this be a reason for widespread fear about girls of mature age being trapped into 'Love Jihad'? What is the connection between love, choice of life partner on the one side, and the interventions by the parents of girls,the police and the court on the other in making out such inter religion love marriages involving conversions as a huge security threat for the entire nation?
Would it not have made more sense for the media to take up such stories beyond the 'user friendly' but boundlessly ridiculous new coinage in the lexicon of hate politics like "Love Jihad"?
The latest response to the so called Love Jihad by the VHP and the obscur Durgavahini is also being enthusiastically propagated by a section of the Malayalam press; the eveninger Flash News(of M/s Kerala Kaumudi)on 10th October carried a two page featured item about how Durgavahini, the womens wing of the VHP is planning to appear in a big way by campaigning in favour of imposing more parental controls on educated Hindu girls. Going by such reports, moral policing perhaps even more ugly than the one resorted by Sri Ram Sene in Karnataka is to set to take off in Kerala under the direct patronage of VHP employing its women cadres.
(Fortunately, not many of them are here around for the time being though the Flash News & Co apparently want to get them more popularity and legitimacy.)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:
Date: Sun, Oct 11, 2009 at 10:19 AM
Subject: [indiathinkersnet] Love Jihad ?
To: indiathinkersnet@yahoogroups.com
Kerala HC wants probe into 'love jihad'
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/kerala-hc-wants-probe-into-love-jihad/523630/
Kerala has a new concern: "love jihad". The state High Court on
Wednesday directed the Kerala Police and Union Home Ministry to probe
the alleged movement, under which young Muslim boys reportedly target
college girls for conversion by feigning love.
The court also asked the state and Centre to look into the sources
that "fund" the love jihad, the number of girls who have got "trapped
in the racket" in the past three years and its extremist links, if
any.
Justice K T Sankaran was hearing anticipatory bail applications of two
Muslim youths, accused of "luring" two MBA students into marriage for
reportedly the purpose of religious conversion. The court rejected
their bail pleas.
The two youths were allegedly associated with Campus Front, a student
outfit of the right-wing Muslim organisation Popular Front of India
(PFI).
Earlier this month, the parents of the two girls had filed a habeus
corpus in the high court after their daughters were found missing. On
being produced in court, the girls deposed that they were "trapped" by
the youths and forced to convet to Islam. Allowing them to go with
their parents, the court had asked the police to probe the charges of
forced conversion after trapping girls in love affairs. The students,
originally residents of Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, had been
studying in a college in Pathanamthitta. According to them, one of
them fell in love with a senior and eloped to marry him. This senior
allegedly "handed over" the other girl to his friend. The girls told
the court that they were taken to a centre in Malappuram where they
were given literature and shown visuals promoting religious extremism.
Police officials admit that there are cases of girls having been
converted forcibly or "trapped" into adopting Islam. "The groups
focused on girls from well-settled families, a majority of them
Hindus," sources said.
Senior PFI leader Naseerudheen Elamaram refuting charges against his
organisation said, "Religious conversion is not a crime; conversion
takes place to Hinduism and Christianity also... One cannot paint all
love affairs as cases of forced conversions meant for extremist
activity."
--------------------------------------
Conversion: court seeks details
DGP told to file a statement
Two persons file petitions for anticipatory bail
High Court also seeks statement from Centre
http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/01/stories/2009100154570500.htm
Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the Director
General of Police to furnish the court details regarding the number of
cases in which women of other religion were forcibly converted to
Islam.
Justice K. T. Sankaran, while considering anticipatory bail petitions,
directed the DGP to file a statement within three weeks on the
following aspects as well: is there a movement called `Romeo Jihad' or
`Love Jihad' working in the State; if so, what are their plans and
projects; which organisations are involved in such activities; where
does the money come for all these activities; how many school and
college students and youngsters were thus converted into Islam in the
last three years; does the alleged project have an all-India basis and
magnitude; has it got financial support from abroad; is there any
connection between the `Love Jihad' movement and counterfeiting,
smuggling, drug trafficking and terrorist activities?
The anticipatory bail petition was filed by Shahan Sha and Sirajudeen
who have been charged with abduction and forcibly converting two MBA
students to Islam. According to the police, the petitioners feigning
love had abducted the girls and put pressure on them to convert to
Islam. They were taken to a person who was stated to be an organiser
of the women's wing of the Popular Front of India. The girls were
later produced before the High Court after their parents filed a
habeas corpus petition. The court allowed them to go with their
parents as per their request.
The court, which went through the case diary, said there were
indications that several similar instances took place in the State.
It was stated that there was a movement called Romeo Jihad or Love
Jihad, conceived by a section of the Muslims, by which Muslim boys
were directed to pretend love to girls of other religion and get them
converted to Islam.
The court pointed out that every citizen was entitled to "freedom of
conscience and the right to freely to profess, practice and propagate
religion as enshrined in Article 25 of the Constitution. This right
did not extend to the right to compel a person professing a religion
to convert to another religion."
